FYI from BSF, 10.07.22
You may have read through our lengthy analysis of Boston MCAS results, and asked yourself: what should we do?
Kerry from our team has some ideas. Read her op-ed in the Boston Globe here.
2022 MCAS Deeper Dive (I)
In the very small union of the Venn diagram of theologians, economists, and literacy specialists resides “the Matthew effect.”
Drawing from a passage from the New Testament, the Matthew effect is the principle that an individual with more resources benefits more from additional resources.
The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.
Educational researchers have attached this concept to literacy development. Students who acquire the initial mechanics for reading grow in capacity and joy as they read, and so they read more, get better reading, and so on. For many struggling readers, the lack of initial resources results in frustration, an aversion to reading, so they read less, do not get better at reading, and so on.
Matthew made an unpleasant cameo in last week’s MCAS results. One of the starkest trends since 2019 is the divide in performance between low-income students and non low-income students. Particularly in Boston.
You are reading that graph correctly. Non low-income students in Boston increased their performance through the pandemic, while low income students’ performance has not rebounded to 2019 levels yet.
We could pose several theories. Students from families with means could better support remote learning in 2020 and 2021. There is some evidence that private tutoring is on the rise, generally. MCAS participation rates varied from 2021 to 2022, creating a cloudy data picture.
All possible, but less direct and tangible than one major factor: attendance.
In 2021-2022, Boston’s students missed nearly 1,000,000 days of school. Low-income students accounted for ~80% of those absences.
Missing 50% more days.
Chronic absenteeism rates nearly double.
You could rely on the common sense inference that if you are in school less, you learn less. But this scatterplot is pretty convincing, too.
It is indisputable that outside factors affect children’s academic performance in school and on standardized tests, and even attendance. But it is also indisputable that the data above show that students with more needs need school more. For each of the ~550,000 more days missed by low-income students, their peers received more instruction, interventions, and fun time with peers, particularly in a year when Boston began to invest a massive amount of federal funds in classrooms.
With the vaccine gap increasingly closed in Boston and Massachusetts and focus from the district (annual canvas, discussion at School Committee meeting), there is the opportunity and attention to not repeat the attendance gap again in 2022-2023, or redirect resources to account for it.
We can have big plans to support kids academically and socially.
But it doesn't work without them in school.
Other Matters
Two viewpoints on the MCAS and what it means.
Sadly, another violent and frightening week for the Burke community. The Ohrenberger also had a shooting-related safe mode yesterday.
With the regular season starting in 11 days, time is running out to invite Jaylen Brown to your school. On Tuesday, he answered the call from Helen Y. Davis Charter School.
Other Matters
Congratulations to Anne Clark, Denella Clark, educators, students, and many BPS and City Hall staff members past and present on the new Boston Arts Academy building.
As our first grantee back in 2015, we have played a small role in the big effort to create a high-quality facility to match the high-quality program B.A.A. provides.
Let’s build a lot more of these.